Friday, July 7, 2017

Nine boats in two divisions contested the 26th annual Brigantine Yacht Club's Classic Moth Boat Regatta. The conditions featured fog and light (5 to 10 out of the SE) winds. This is the first time we've encountered fog at this venue. Racing started on time in spite of that and although the fog made it difficult at times to see the next mark it had the benefit of keeping the Sea-Doo fleet idle.

A little murky at the launch ramp.

Joe Bousquet came up from Norfolk, VA with his Generation II Mistral. One didn't have to go very far to lose sight of the houses and docks.

Bob Patterson, McCutcheon-Shelley, Chestertown, MD

Victor Stango, Lindenberg, Chestertown, MD

Erik Albaugh, Reeves Round Bilge, Brigantine, NJ

Your old diarist, Winner-Europe, Brigantine, NJ

Shane Boyle, Odenton, MD, borrowed one of my sails and raced his newly completed Boyle-Europe. His father, Bill Boyle, has now built two of this design using the cedar strip method of construction. The boats look good and perform well.

Bill Boyle, Kent Island, MD sailing the first built of the two cedar strippers. Both boats feature stayed, deck stepped masts rather than the Europe's normal keel stepped free-standing mast. The choice of mast was driven by availability and cost of good carbon free-standing masts. In this country carbon free-standing masts are rare and expensive.

The Yacht Club and houses on the bay shore of Brigantine at times disappeared from view.

It did get clearer as the morning went on.

Returning to the dock at the conclusion of racing. I still am not used to looking for this building. It seems like it should be someone's house rather than the yacht club.

As is often the case, the fog pretty much disappeared by the time we pulled the boats out for the day after five races. In Gen II Mike beat Joe by a single point. In Gen I Bob Patterson beat me by three points. It might have been closer if I hadn't gone brain dead at the start of the third race. Maybe next year.

About Me

I'm a 60-something year old goat (who's counting? I don't look a day over 70) who enjoys racing Classic and Vintage Moth Boats (a small development class of sailing dinghy), putzing with little British cars, riding bikes (both motor and pedal),figure skating and an occasional bimble.